Hihihi!
I’ve been dying to encrust my hair in beautiful, shiny jewels for quite some time now. You all know of my love for jewellery but I feel that it shouldn’t just be restricted to the ‘normal’ parts of the body (fingers, wrists, neck etc) we choose to adorn. The only problem with adorning the hair is that the high street is going through a dull, unimaginative period and only offers basic headbands or, at a stretch, floral crowns or tiaras. They look nice, but I just want some solid bling in my hair!
Then I came across ‘Matha Patti’ which I think translates from Hindi as ‘Head Band’, don’t quote me on that though, my Hindi isn’t quite what it used to be… Anyways, I’ve seen these things knocking about for years at full-on Asian Weddings, in fact my sister even wore one to her own. Despite this, I didn’t actually know what they were called so it was a quite the struggle to find them on t’internet!
So recently I finally went in to a Desi Clothes shop and the conversation went a little like this:
“Do you do that hair thing?”
“You what?”
“You know, bling for the hair?”
“Oh, you mean Matha Patti?”
“Err, maybe…”
I was shown a few in-store but they seemed like bridal pieces, lots of reds and golds that just wouldn’t match well against my hair so I gave them a miss. I was looking for something silvery perhaps with a splash of ‘cool’ colour like blue, turquoise or even lavender. But hey, at least I knew what I was looking for now!
Armed with my new-found knowledge I laid siege to the internet, searching for the finest Matha Pattis money could buy. At this point I came across Shelly’s Jewels on Instagram. Salmah (the boss) sells the most incredible Matha Pattis I’ve ever seen! She was very charming and helpful, giving me plenty of advice – I thought they might look a bit silly on me with my fringe. Nonetheless, after her advice I parted with the cash, £35 to be precise!
And gosh, how glad am I that I did?!
A little bit stunning, isn’t it?
I have to say that I found it quite difficult to wear! It can snag on the hair (and mine is still a bit touchy after the bleaching) as it has all these little hooks to secure to your head. I ended up using the odd grip-pin here and there to keep it in place. Also I wasn’t exactly sure how it should rest on the head! Instagram saved the day though, and I was told the third Tikka should be resting on the hairline.
I did have a go at this however I found that placing the chains of pretty stones across my forehead felt much more comfortable. This way the tikkas rest in the centre of the forehead, giving the effect of an oversized bindi!
Here I’ve parted my fringe and stuck on the headpiece.
I combined my Drop Dead Unicorn Jumper and a midi skirt with this modern take on a traditional Indian Head-dress to give a real ‘East meets West’ look! With my mixture of Indian origins and British upbringing I find it fascinating to mix and match elements of both styles and this Matha Patti definitely adds an extra dimension to any outfit!
And finally, to the ‘Desi Gok Wan’ that didn’t have the guts to use their real username on Instagram or Twitter, left a ‘question’ on my Tumblr stating how I’ve worn this ‘wrong’ and I look ‘stupid’, I actually prefer it this way. So get bent.
Anonymous
July 3, 2013I think I want to buy one of these. It's sooo pretty!
Mabel
Life of Mabel
The Dainty Dolls House
July 3, 2013You look beautiful in it, love the piece 🙂 x
Aisha
July 3, 2013It looks gorgeous on you!! I wore one on my wedding day, it was berry similar to yours. If you go into Asian jewellery shops and ask for matha pattis, they'll show some beautiful pieces, which they usually keep under the counter!
Gem
July 3, 2013gorgeous! the silver looks great against your blue hair.
Katie
July 3, 2013I love it, totally wouldn't have the balls to wear it down the highstreet though!!
Gorgeous!
Katie <3
LaaLaa
July 3, 2013I love it, stunning & huge LOL to the conversation in the store.
umm end of the day you wear it how you feel it suits you and your comfortable. I've always admired you for doing YOU! But you know all this cos I tell you this like omg all the time *valley girl*
xoxo
Unknown
July 3, 2013Gorgeous! x
Maria xx
http://thesuckerforfashion.blogspot.com
Expat make up addict
July 3, 2013This looks so beautiful on you Halima!
zara c
July 3, 2013beautiful! and it suits you too! i am looking for some to wear with my hijabs so this might be what i was looking for.
Batul Fazal
July 3, 2013Ps: you look gorgeous in it!
Batul Fazal
July 3, 2013I'm getting excited about hair jewelry recently and am looking for a headpiece to wear with maxi skirts xx
Lima
July 3, 2013Hey Batul. Oh gosh yes, I can imagine a bit of bling on the hair would look fab with a maxi skirt! x
Lima
July 3, 2013My little sister wears these over her hijab and they look incredibly gorgeous! A blue scarf with a silver headpiece = PERFECTION!
x
Lima
July 3, 2013Thank you, Stace! 🙂 I do like my jewels!
x
Lima
July 3, 2013Thank you, Maria. Love the name of your blog. GENIUS.
x
Lima
July 3, 2013And why the hell not? I DARE YOU!
x
Lima
July 3, 2013I'm telling you girl, this lady couldn't help but have a giggle as I didn't know the name of these marvelous pieces!
Oh aye, I feel loved. Like, WELL LOVED.
x
Lima
July 3, 2013I think I saw, Ashi! On your instagram, yaaar? You looked extraordinary.
I will be doing this in the weekend now that I know the name of these, ha!
x
Lima
July 3, 2013Thank you my Kizzydoll!
x
Lima
July 3, 2013Thank you, Gem Gem!
Silver and blue appear to be a good match.
x
Unknown
July 6, 2013beautiful x
Unknown
July 6, 2013Woow this headpiece is dazzling, you look beautiful!
*~mad munky~*
July 6, 2013That looks lovely! Just checked out their site 🙂 Just wondering if I'm a bit too old to wear this sort of thing!!
Just me, Leah
July 7, 2013That's bloody gorgeous! x x
DANIELLE // DKD DESIGNS
July 7, 2013YOU LOOK GORGEOUS. Wish I could pull something like this off! xx
Uma Mageswari Preve
July 7, 2013This is so gorgeous! Some people are shit heads… you need to be u, not others! Werk it girly!
Unknown
July 12, 2013Gorgeous! Thank you so much for all your love, shout outs, shares and putting me in your blog I appreciate it so much! As a start up business you've helped me out loads, if you ever need anything else, email me and I'll more than happily give you a customised discount 🙂
Thanks again, your pictures look incredible!
Unknown
July 12, 2013Gorgeous! Thank you so much for all your love, shout outs, shares and putting me in your blog I appreciate it so much! As a start up business you've helped me out loads, if you ever need anything else, email me and I'll more than happily give you a customised discount 🙂
Thanks again, your pictures look incredible!
Lima
July 17, 2013Do it, Mabel! They're a bit fidly but worth it!
x
Unknown
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jeni
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